Many thanks to IRONMAN® Oceania for providing entry to these events, which are part of the Runaway Series.

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Greg Wallace's Hands Across the Water run
Greg Wallace started an epic 800km run in eight days through Thailand yesterday, in order to raise money for Australian charity Hands Across the Water. Find out more at his The So Extreme Run website and Facebook page.

Former race winner disqualified from across the years 24 hour race
I always find it amazing that people cheat at events, but never really considered that it would be possible to do so at a 24 hour track race where you run around a loop over and over. However it turns out it is possible: Kelly Agnew cheated by stepping off the track after crossing the timing map to go to the toilet, but when he came back he'd cross the timing map again. Find out more in this article at Marathon Investigation.

Different race lengths for men and women? It's time things changed!
Although this is a UK commentary piece at The Guardian, a lot of athletics and cross country events across New Zealand and Australia still have different race distances for men and women. It is extraordinary that we are still having a "debate surrounding gender equality", so here are some of the arguments given by "traditionalists" for maintaining the status quo - and their rebuttals.

Getting back to running after a long break
If it's been a while since you've been running and you are struggling to get back into it, Duncan Larkin has some tips to help in this article at Motiv Running, which include: gradually easing back into it; go easy on yourself and don't compare yourself to the runner you were before; and run with others.

Recent updates
To find out what's been recently updated, check the recent updates page regularly. I include in this newsletter a list of the more important updates (see below) such as date changes, cancellations, or late additions to the calendar. And check out the full calendar of upcoming events.

Cancellations/postponements
- Rip to River at Point Lonsdale in Victoria was postponed from 6 January to 18 February due to extreme heat conditions
- Avalon Beach Surf Swim in Sydney was postponed from 14 January to 8 April due to strong winds and high seas